BEMIDJI — Wayne Caughey can now call himself a Birchmont Golf Tournament champion, and he had to beat a Hall of Famer to do it.
Master’s Division defending champion Jeff Wiltse had a two-hole lead at the turn. He extended it to three with a birdie on the 11th.
Then Caughey found another gear.
Representing Perham, Caughey won the next four holes — the first two with birdies — to take the lead. Wiltse got one back to square the match with a birdie on the 16th before Caughey’s par on the 17th regained the lead. Both players made par on the final hole to give Caughey the 1-up win.
Caughey joined
Carter and Jackson White as the first-time winners
on Saturday at the Bemidji Town and Country Club in the 102nd Birchmont. The rest of the Divisions were won by previous champions.
Troy Johnson hits an approach shot on the third hole in his Men’s Executive Division championship match in the 102nd Birchmont Golf Tournament on Saturday, Aug. 1, 2026, at the Bemidji Town and Country Club.
Jared Rubado / Bemidji Pioneer
Troy Johnson is a back-to-back Birchmont champion
in the Men’s Executive Division. The now-three-time winner beat No. 2 Jeff Thompson 3-and-2. Full scorecards for the Men’s Executive Division were not posted.
The Senior Division crown went to Mark Ewing, the medalist. He beat No. 4 Brad Anderson 2-up in a back-and-forth match.
Anderson won the first two holes with pars before Ewing leveled the match with wins on Nos. 5 and 7. Anderson retook the lead with a birdie on the 10th before Ewing won back-to-back holes to head to the 14th.
Ewing took a two-hole lead with a birdie on the 15th before Anderson’s birdie on the penultimate hole cut his deficit in half. Anderson made bogey on the final hole, leading to Ewing’s first title as a Senior Division player.
Mark Ewing putts on the third hole in his Senior Division semifinal match in the 102nd Birchmont Golf Tournament on Saturday, Aug. 1, 2026, at the Bemidji Town and Country Club.
Jared Rubado / Bemidji Pioneer
The first-ever Grand Master’s champion is Doug Taylor, who beat Bruce Pederson 1-up. Taylor is a two-time Master’s Division winner.
Pederson won three of the first four holes and took a 2-up lead into the 13th. Taylor proceeded to win the next four holes to flip the script.
Brad Anderson putts from the rough on the third hole in his Senior Division semifinal match in the 102nd Birchmont Golf Tournament on Saturday, Aug. 1, 2026, at the Bemidji Town and Country Club.
Jared Rubado / Bemidji Pioneer
Jeff Wiltse putts on the third hole in his Master’s Division championship match in the 102nd Birchmont Golf Tournament on Saturday, Aug. 1, 2026, at the Bemidji Town and Country Club.
Jared Rubado / Bemidji Pioneer
Jeff Thompson tees off on the fourth hole in his Men’s Executive Division championship match in the 102nd Birchmont Golf Tournament on Saturday, Aug. 1, 2026, at the Bemidji Town and Country Club.
Jared Rubado / Bemidji Pioneer
Troy Johnson chips toward the third green in his Men’s Executive Division championship match in the 102nd Birchmont Golf Tournament on Saturday, Aug. 1, 2026, at the Bemidji Town and Country Club.
Jared Rubado / Bemidji Pioneer
Mark Ewing tees off on the second hole in his Senior Division semifinal match in the 102nd Birchmont Golf Tournament on Saturday, Aug. 1, 2026, at the Bemidji Town and Country Club.
Jared Rubado / Bemidji Pioneer
Brad Anderson hits his tee shot on the second hole in his Senior Division semifinal match in the 102nd Birchmont Golf Tournament on Saturday, Aug. 1, 2026, at the Bemidji Town and Country Club.
Jared Rubado / Bemidji Pioneer
Jared Rubado took over as sports editor at the Bemidji Pioneer in February 2023 after working as a sports reporter at the Alexandria Echo Press and sports editor of the Detroit Lakes Tribune, Perham Focus and Wadena Pioneer Journal newspaper group.
He graduated from Augustana University in 2018 with journalism and sports management degrees.
You can reach Jared at jrubado@bemidjipioneer.com or (218) 316-2613. Follow him on Twitter at @JaredRubadoBP.